Amos 8:11

World Views

Atheism

The word atheism is a transliteration of a Greek word which means
"without God." The word atheos is used in Ephesians 2:12
describing the condition of being without the true God.

That at that time ye were without Christ, being
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of
promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: - Ephesians 2:12

Christians were at one time called atheists because they refused to
acknowledge heathen Greek gods. Protestants at times have been called atheists
because of their refusal to deify Mary
and to worship saints. Today the term is generally used to describe those who
philosphically reject a personal self-conscious deity or the absolute denial of
God's existence.

There is a practical atheism as well. While God is not
denied, life is lived as if there is no God. There is complete indifference to
his claims, and often there is outspoken and defiant wickedness. This form of
atheism is widely prevalent today.

One of the primary deceptions the
devil uses is atheism, particularly the godless theory of evolution.
Atheisms denial of Gods existence means there is no moral Judge to
whom people are accountable after they die. They believe they are free to sin
as they please and then simply pass out of existence.

One of the most
visible atheists in 20th Century America was Madalyn Murray O'Hair whose
efforts contributed to the 1963 Supreme Court ruling that declared
unconstitutional the devotional reading of the Bible and the recitation of the
Lord's Prayer in public schools.

Today atheism is claimed to be the
logical consequence of a rational system that accounts for all human experience
without the need to appeal to God. Communism is
such an organized and integrated system. At its heart is a materialistic view
of history and the complete secularization of life.

Arguments in favor
of atheism:

The onus of proof is on the theist, since atheism is prima
facie of more reasonable postion.

With the advances in modern science there is no need for God as
an explanatory hypotheis. The supernatural is unneeded.

The material universe began with the 'big bang.'

Charles Darwin rejected God on the grounds that there is an
inherent cruelty in nature, as seen in the struggle for existence among animal
species.

Belief in God is psychologically explainable.

Sigmund Freud saw God as an illusion, a childish projection
which grew out of the insecurity of knowing that parents will die someday and
the subsequent wish for a "father" who was perfect and would not die.

Theism is neither true nor false because it is unverifiable by
public sense experience.

Theism is logically contradictory or incoherent. It has been
claimed that the notion of necessary existence is incoherent and that the
existence of an omnipotent, perfectly good God is inconsistent with the
presence of evil in the world.

Arguments against
atheism:

It is against reason. The existence of something rather than
nothing requires God.

It is contrary to human experience, where some knowledge of God,
no matter how suppressed and distorted, has universally existed.

Atheism cannot account for design, order, and regularity in the
universe.

While Atheism says the material universe began with a "big bang,"
they cannot explain what caused it to come into existence.

It cannot explain the existence of man and mind.

The Major World Views

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus
and said: Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.
For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even
found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship
as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. - Acts 17:22-23

Agnosticism Holds that
truth is "unknowable."

Rationalism Sees all of
nature as rational and the making of proper deductions is essential to
achieving knowledge.